Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Sacramento State
Wildcats Earn First Win 49-17 Over Sacramento State
9/18/2011 5:05:00 AM | Football
OGDEN, Utah - Weber State broke in its new field at Stewart Stadium with a dominating 49-17 win over Sacramento State Saturday night in the first home and Big Sky game of the season. The Wildcats totaled 522 yards of total offense as they picked up their first win of the season.
Weber State picked up 324 yards on the ground in the victory. Tanner Hinds led a balanced WSU rushing attack with 104 yards on 10 carries, all coming in the second half of the game. Josh Booker had nine carries for 86 yards and Barrinton Collins had eight carries for 70 yards and C.J. Tuckett recorded eight carries for 58 yards.
Quarterback Mike Hoke also had a strong night for the 'Cats completing 17 of 33 passes for 198 yards and three passing touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown on the ground.
The 'Cats led 10-3 at halftime before breaking the game open and outscoring the Hornets 35-14 in the second half. Hoke recorded a three-yard touchdown run to start the scoring in the third quarter. He then hit Shaydon Kehano for a 30-yard touchdown.
Early in the fourth quarter Hinds scored on a 25-yard touchdown run and the 'Cats led 35-10. Just two minutes later junior cornerback David James broke the game open with a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was the second longest interception return in Weber State school history and the first touchdown for James.
Josh Booker ended the WSU scoring with a 35-yard touchdown run.
On the defensive side Anthony Morales led the way with 13 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. However, Morales left the game in the second half with a groin injury. Nick Webb also recorded ten tackles for the Wildcats.
"We made some great improvements tonight and once we got on track with our run game we got things going," said WSU head coach Ron McBride. "Our defense also forced some turnovers which helped put the game away. We still have some work to do but it's great to get a win."
The Wildcats improve to 1-2 on the season and 1-0 in Big Sky play. Sacramento State drops to 1-2 overall and is now 0-8 all-time in Ogden.
Weber State will play at Northern Colorado next Saturday, Sept. 24 at 1:30 p.m. That game will be televised live on Altitude TV.
